Wrench



W. D..-MOBRISON. WRENCH. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5.191'9.

1,306,553, Patented June 10, 1919.

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UNITED sTATEs grnrnirrv oFFIoE. V A

WILLIAM D. MORRISON, jor DENVER, coLoRADo.v j

WRENCH.

To all 'whom it may concern.' n.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM D.- Mon- RIsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements yin lVrenches'; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as' will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make Y and use the same.

This invention embodies novel -improvements in wrenches, andv particularly relates to those types which are of an angular-line construction, inasmuch as the work-engaging jaws, or their equivalent, project at an angle to the transverse plane of the tool base or handle.-

The broad aims of the invention are primarily to provide such a wrench,k whichis not only strong vin construction, simple in assembly and operation, and durable and efficient in action, while comparatively inexpensive to manufacture, but also one whereby wrenching operations may be the more facilely accomplished under all general conditions,l and greatly accelerated especially where the work to be engaged is positioned in restricted spaces, thus increasing the efficiency of the wrench to a maximum degree both in point of easy manipulation and rapidity of action.

VMerely by way of emphasizing the great utility of my improvements, attention may be directed to lthe almost inaccessible nuts for the coupling bolts, strapping a connecting rod with -a crank, in the. crank base of y an automobile engine. for instance, although itwill be obvious that the limits of use Vof the improved tool is not so restricted, as it may be very satisfactorily employed in many and varied relations.- Also, it-may be said at the outset that, while for simplicity of description and brevity I shall.1nerely refer to nuts as the work to be engaged, the'invention is equally applicable for use with headed bolts, whether of a stud-'bolt type or otherwise, or in factinany analogous relation.

Other objects-and advantages of the de! tailed construction, assembly andfunctioning of the several elements will be so clearly apparent, as incidental tothe following description, that it Vwould be only undesirable s urplusage to further referto thf-ufn initially.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 10, 1919, Application filed March 5, 1919. Serial No. 280,836.

4*With these prefacinggeneral statements, l

-F ig. 2 is a plan view,'partly broken away as' indicated by thev section line 2*2 of Fig.

1; Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view, taken in the plane of the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; and Fig- L isa vertical cross-sectional view, through the casing head ofthe tool, along the-line @-Iof Fig. 1.

5 designates an intermediateelement of the casing head of the wrench, which element is shown infthe form of an elongated rectangular flat base member, or .main body portion, terminating in a handle portion 6 of any suitable construction, contour and length.

The member 5 is formed with the central longitudinal slot 7, the width of which is slightly increased to provide a clearance space 8, proximate to its outer end, and thence lcontinues as they short terminal slot 9, whichv in turn merges into the circular aperture'lO, a further suitable aperture 11 being located proximate to but out of com` munication' with the vopposite end of said elongated slot 7, andthe whole arrangement functioning as a partial housing for 'certain mechanically associatel elements later refered to.

,12 designates 'upper and `lower covering plates for the intermediate member 5, to which they are secured in any suitable way, as by screws, bolts or rivets,.indicated at 13. These platesare of-similar proportions and design,and are provided with opposed depressions 14 and 15, respectively, or other- Y hollow out the upper portion of the barrel of the drum to provide a socketing seat 2()a for detachably receiving a squared lug 20, formed integrally with, or otherwise connected to, the base of a chuck member 21, which latter is in turn socketed, as at 22, for the reception of a correspondingly shaped nut. This permits of the employment lof a set of individual chucks, which positively engage the work, without the serious disadvantages of less positive adjustaable jaws in' restricted spaces, while at the same time allowing Vfor adesired substantial range of operations relatively to nuts of *varying forms and sizes.

Suitable means are provided Afor rotating the chuck 21 independently of the ratcheting mechanism and the wrench handle, while the latter holds 'the chuck up against the nut.

Such a lmeans is designated by the flexible cord 28, or an equivalent flexible element, secured at one end 24 to the drum andat its free end provided with a. hand grip 25, the said cord being' adapted to be wound around the drum barrel in reverse directions, dependent upon whether the nut is to be removed from itsy bolt Vor screwed home thereon. vThe drawings show it wound in position for' the latter operation.

The ratchet dog control comprises a cylindrical body member 26, having a reduced cylindrical shank 27 projecting' froln one end and at its other end terminating in a squared head 28, having a beveled face 29 forming a pawl co-acting with the toothed periphery of the ratchet wheel16. The p( wl is normally holdup against the ratchet teeth with the usual retractile pressure, illustrated by the controlling spring 30 coiled around the shank 27 in the relation shown, but the specific general construction of this whole controlling mechanism has its own merits, and its particular mounting provides for a reversible pawl arrangement of effective and compact disposition.

The cylindrical body member' 26 and its shank27 extends within the slot 7 the former also slid-ingly bearing upon the opposed casing plates 12, while the far end of the shank `27 projects -into the squared aperture 11, and supports a milled operating wheel 31 for substantially withdrawing and reversing the pawl element, all of which will be more fully set forth in the following description of operations.

Operation..

qWhen a nut is to be screwed home, the flexible cable is wound around the barrel of the drum 1S in the direction indicated in the drawings, with the ratchet pawl correspondingly set as shown, and this would be the case regardless of the actual disposition of the bolt. f

To be more explicit, however, we will assume that the"J bolt isdownwardly directed, whereupon, with a nut .resting in the socket 22 of an .appropriately fitting chuck member, the tool would be supported in the position shown in Fig. 1, and hence the nut may be' held u'p directly against the starting threads of the bolt; rThis not only guards Yagainst the serious inconvenience of the nut beingprobably released and dropped into someinaccessible place, but also serves as a positive centering means therefor.

lVhen so centered and positively held, therefore, upon a steady and rapid vpull on the cable 23, vmar-iually or otherwise, the unwinding yof the `latter will cause a 'greatly` accelerated rotation of the drum and supported chuck member, compared to a slow ratcheting action, and hence the nut is speedily threaded up the bolt to a posi-tion where the final ltightening power is to vbe applied, whereupon it may then be ratcheted home securely by a very few movements of the wrench handle, substantially as a continuous action, without the removal of the wrench from ythe timefof applying it to the -work until the latter has been satisfactorily accomplished.

During` the rotation vof the chuck. independenti-y of the ratchetingaction, it will be obvious that the beveled face of the retractile .pawl rides over vtheJ peripheral teeth of the ratchet wheel with but trifling sliding resistance, but even this slight resistance may be avoided in some instances,if desired, by withdrawingand-holding the Apawl latched, in a. disengaged relation Vto l the ratchet teeth, which will briefly 4be referred to later.

Also, lit may beconvenientlystated at this point thatthe cable 23 performs another important function.

In attempting to apply Va ratc'heting action to alnut, when 'the 'latter is still freely loose on its threads, or has 4not yet begun a firm. binding grip, the nut is not infrequently rotated back from its immediately advanced position by the reverse swing of the wrench handle, the resistance being insufficient to overcome that of the spring-controlled pawl., sovthat in effect a step is'made forward with an equivalent'motion back again, and hence, temporarily atleast, there `is no elfectiveadvance motion until the nut linally begins to bind. It is a question just how 'long that may continue, but being all lost motion it is obviously very objectionable.` However, by holdingthe cable 23 taut, it provides ananv lsisting of a basemember suitably supporting a handle and: a ratchetwhecl associated choring'means against a backward rotation of the drum 18, and hence for thefratchet wheel also to which it is attached, necessitating the pawls receding movement over the ratchet teeth. -i

Thus far I have simply referred to the operation of threading a nut on its bolt for screwing the former home, but it is thought that it will be clearly seen that a nut maybe just as speedily threaded olf its bolt, by an exact reversal of the method of operation.

To do this, however, the cable must be wound around the drum in the opposite directionfto that shown, and likewise the operative position of the ratchet-dog must be reversed, in the accomplishment of which latter, the particular slotted formation of the intermediate base supporting member 5 has its own peculiar functioning, which will now be referred to.

Gripping the milled wheel 31 between the thumb and foretinger, the former may be moved rearwardly in the aperture 11, thus withdrawing the ratchet-dog element, against the tension of the spring 30, until the squared head 28 will have receded into the widened slot 8. A half turn of the milled wheel,'in either direction, will then reverse the operative position of the ratchetdog, the partial rotation of the 4squared head thereof being allowed for by the clearance space formed by the widened slot 8 and the registering recesses 14 and 15 of the casing plates, as will be evident from Fig. 4. Upon releasing the milled wheel, the spring 30 will return the ratchet-dog again into operative association with the ratchet wheel, bu't in the reversed position desired.

When the ratchet-dog head is back in the clearance space, if only a quarter turn or a trifle less is made, it may be held latched in that position, out of operative engagement with the ratchet wheel, so that the latter with the chuck may be rotated, as previously referred to, without even the frictional resistance of the otherwise engaging ratchetdog. This may be found quite expedient where the work is in the open, but ordinarily and understood equivalents.' v

l/Vhat I do claim', as-patentably novel, is

1. Intools of the character set forth, conwith a 'ratchet-dogp in. combination Vwith a drumv coupled ywithv said ratchet wheel-to rotatably co-act therewith,A work-engaging means carried by` said drum; and `flexible means adaptedtofbe so coiledaround said drum. as to impart rotary.fmotionthereto, upon unwinding, lindependentlyof the coy'i'ng ahandle and a ratchet wheel associated Vwith a ratchet-dog; in combination with a drum coupled with said ratchet wheel to rotatably co-act therewith; a socketed nutreceiving chuck carried by said drum; and A iexible means adapted to be so coiled around said drum as to impart rotary motion thereto, upon'unwinding, independently of the co-acting ratcheting movements thereof, substantially as described.

3. In tools of the character set forth, consisting of a base member suitably supporting a handle and a ratchet wheel associated with a reversible ratchet-dog; in combination with a drum coupled with said ratchet wheel to rotatably co-act therewith; a detachably mounted socketed nut-receivingV chuck carried Iby said drum; and flexible means adapted to be so coiled around said drum as to impart rotary motion thereto, upon unwinding, independently of the co-acting ratcheting movements thereof, substantially as described.

t.k In tools of the character set forth, the combination with a base member, having a suitable handle and formed withV alongitudinal slot merging into a circular aperture, the said slot being slightlywidened to provide a clearance space adjacent said circular aperture; of a ratchet wheel mounted in said circular aperture; a drum coupled with said ratchet wheel to rotatably co-act therewith; work-engaging means carried by said drum; a spring controlled retractile element disposed in said slot and providing a ratchet-dog tooth operatively associated with said ratchet wheel and clearance space;

-means for withdrawing and reversing said retractile element; and flexible means adapted to be so coiled-around said drum as to impartrotary motion thereto, upon unwinding, independently-ofthe co-acting ratcheting movements thereof, substantially as described.

5. 1n tools of the character set forth, the combination with a base member, having a suitable handle and formed with a longitudinal slot merging into a circular aperture,

the said slot being slightly widened to provide a clearance space adjacentl said circular aperture; of a centrally apertured ratchet Wheel mounted in said circular aperture; upper and lower covering yplates' for said base member having recesses registering Withsaid clearance space, and the upper plate-beingl apertured to aline with the apierture of said ratchet Wheel; a spring controlled retractile element disposed in said Vslot and providing a ratchct-dog'tooth operativelyassocated with said ratchet Wheel and clearance space; means for withdrawing and reversing said retractilefelenient; a-d'ruln mounted over said upper covering plate and having -a stud spindle extending', through the y aperture thereof,4 into xed relation Within wthe aperture of said ratchet Wheel; Work engaging means carried by said drum to rotatably c'oaet therewith and With said ratchet Wheel; and `l'efible means adapted to be lso coiled around vsaid'drunif'as to impart rotary motion thereto'u'pon unwindingindependently of the coacting ratcheting movements thercof scribed.

vIn testimony whereof, Iaiix my signature. A Y Y WILLLXM D@ MORRISON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for -ve cents each, by addressing lthe "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, Di GJ vsubstantial@y as de-` 

